THIS WEEK'S REAL ESTATE STORIES

The United States has no national housing market. Every big city, suburb and rural community has its own real estate market, complete with its own set of quirks.

Detailing those differences, as well as point out the similarities, is one of the things the American Housing Survey does so well. The AHS, conducted by the Census Bureau and sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides a snapshot of a variety of housing characteristics that go well beyond the data available from the decennial census.

The AHS collects national data in odd-numbered years, but every six years or so it delves into individual markets. This week, the Census Bureau released data for 13 metropolitan areas: Atlanta; Cleveland; Denver; Hartford, Conn.; Indianapolis; Memphis, Tenn.; New Orleans; Oklahoma City; Pittsburgh; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio; Seattle; and St. Louis. See the census Web site for more on the AHS surveys.

Here are some of the highlights from the current data:

If you want to find an affordable market, try St. Louis. In the St. Louis metropolitan area, median monthly housing costs in 2004 totaled $694 for homeowners and $593 for renters. Those costs amounted to17% of the owners' and 27% of the renters' income. Memphis is a bargain as well with a median home value of just $110,014. (Compare that with San Francisco, where median prices now top $700,000.)

Homeowners in Atlanta love where they live. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest, 28% of homeowners in the Atlanta metropolitan area rated their neighborhoods a "10." Speaking of good neighborhoods, only about 20% of homeowners in the Cleveland metropolitan area reported crime in their neighborhoods; in the Denver area, 23% reported crime.

The ability to work close to home drives a lot of our housing decisions. In the Sacramento area, 24% of all workers usually worked at home at some point during a typical week; about the same percent of those in the Seattle metropolitan area did so. In the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, 20% of the residents who moved in the past year cited "convenient to job" as the main reason for their choice of present neighborhood.

And despite recent concerns about burgeoning mortgage debt, not everyone is in hock. In the New Orleans metropolitan area, 7% of homeowners had a second mortgage on their home, while 43% owned their home mortgage-free.

One of the best things about the AHS is that, unlike most of the media, it is not obsessed with the coasts when it comes to providing housing information. That can give you a much better picture of just how diverse our cities and towns are.

Steve Kerch, real estate editor

Top 10 towns for families offer more than good schools

What's the first thing families with children seek when moving? The town with the best schools. But they may be putting too much emphasis on that one criterion, according to a new ranking of the top family-friendly locales in 10 metro areas nationwide. See full story.

Jitters alone could table housing bubble, economist says

It may not take rocketing interest rates to pop the housing bubble now seen in patches of the country, according to Ethan Harris, chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers. The manic buying spree and escalating prices could all be brought to an end by a simple but severe case of investor nerves, he said. See full story.

How houses eat money

How hot is the real-estate market? Try reading my mail. A few years ago, I could offer warnings on the actual costs of homeownership and I would hear hardly a peep. But lately, when I offer similar comments, I am inundated with blistering emails that belittle my intelligence with language unfit for publication. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Lenders retool long-term mortgages

The mortgage industry is starting to make the move from short to long. Lenders are rolling out a new crop of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages that let homeowners make low, interest-only payments for as long as 10 or 15 years. It is the latest effort to snare borrowers seeking lower monthly payments. Also getting a new push: mortgages that stretch for as long as 40 years. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Home prices rise across the global village

It was a familiar story from Golden Land Property Development PLC. With its 35-story Sky Villas condominiums nearly sold out, it unveiled plans for an even more lavish project. The Infinity features a replica of Rome's Spanish Steps, a spa in a restored historic mansion and faux-Venetian canals. About 90% of the units in the new development sold out in less than three months, even though some were priced at more than $1 million. The project isn't in a hot U.S. real-estate market like Las Vegas or Miami. It's in Bangkok, where home prices are soaring, bank mortgage lending is climbing and developers are adding thousands of glitzy units. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Themed megaplexes entice customers to malls

As shopping mall owners turn to increasingly lavish entertainment to attract the crowds once drawn by department stores, an upstart movie chain with opulent theaters that include valet parking, babysitting and restaurants is emerging as a big winner. See story from RealEstateJournal.

U.S. mortgage rates move higher

The average fixed interest rate paid on a 30-year mortgage edged up as expected this week from its lowest in more than a year, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The 30-year rate averaged 5.63% for the week ending Thursday, up from last week's 5.56% average, which was the lowest rate paid since April 2004. See Mortgages.

U.S. May housing starts inch higher

New residential construction inched higher in May, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Housing starts rose 0.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted 2.009 million annualized units from April's downwardly-revised 2.005 million, the government said. See Economic Report.

A year after hurricanes, thousands still in limbo

After last year's nearly unprecedented hurricane season -- when four major windstorms collectively devastated large areas of Florida and some adjoining parts of Alabama -- thousands of residents are still in limbo, as logistical and bureaucratic nightmares prevent them from returning to normal life. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Couples share passion for realty investing

No one understands how much time being a real-estate entrepreneur requires better than Angela Sourapas. Buying real estate has preoccupied Jeff Jones, her 33-year-old boyfriend, for more than a year -- first as he researched vacation properties on the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle, then as he investigated other nearby areas and made his initial purchases. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Tax implications of selling your home

While the Internal Revenue Service and Congress have declared war on tax shelters, nobody is threatening to touch America's most popular shelter: home, sweet home. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Wealthiest Americans lower risk on real estate

Rich Americans cut back on their real-estate investments last year, suggesting that the wealthy believe the market has become overheated, according to a new study. See story from RealEstateJournal.

Housing market sizzles; home-builder stocks don't

The housing market is red-hot. And so are the earnings and stock prices of the firms that build them. But some valuation measures suggest investors remain wary of the sector. See story from RealEstateJournal.

The hottest vacation-home markets

The phenomenal real-estate boom of the past five years is sweeping through the vacation-home market. Lured by relatively low interest rates and the promise of big resale value, investors and regular vacationers alike are snapping up second homes -- or, in some cases, third or fourth homes. And though rising interest rates could cool things off, the juggernaut shows few signs of stopping for now, even in upscale areas. See story from WSJ.com.

Interest-only mortgages: points to consider

Interest-only mortgages were a hot topic on Thursday. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, in testimony before Congress, expressed worry over interest-only loans, saying that their prevalence is of "particular concern." See Go Figure.

Waterfront homes for boating enthusiasts

Vacationers who dream of living on the water may want to consider a riverfront home. These retreats have views, are outfitted with docking facilities and some have boathouses and ocean access. See Retreats.

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